Anti-Migrant Protest Held in Bosnian Border Town

Some 1,000 people in the Bosnian town of Bihac, on the border with Croatia, staged their third consecutive evening protest on Monday, demanding that state-level officials find a proper solution to the rise in the number of migrants and refugees arriving in the area.

  People of Bihac gathered in the town centre, demanding the relocation of migrants and refugees Photo: Courtesy of N1

Protesters walked through the town centre, demanding that illegal migrants be relocated outside the central area and that any further influx is prevented. 

The exact number of migrants currently residing in Bihac is unknown, but recent estimates from local police, the UN refugee agency UNHCR and others put the figure at between 3,000 and 5,000 in Bihac.

  Residents of Bihac demand that state-level institutions resolve the situation with migrants and refugees as soon as possible. Photo: Courtesy of N1

 On Saturday night, thousands of Bihac residents briefly blocked the main road from the capital, Sarajevo, as well as the main bus and train station in the town. On Sunday night, locals staged a protest walk through the centre of the town, but with fewer numbers due to rain.

"The migrant crisis in the country should be solved by the state Security Ministry, the Border Police and other state institutions. The problem we're facing is just a consequence of their [state-level officials'] mistakes," Suhret Fazlic, the major of Bihac, told media on Sunday.

With only two official asylum and refugee centres, Bosnia is struggling to accommodate a growing number of migrants and refugees - but a new centre is still awaiting agreement from the various authorities in the country.

  Protesters claim they are protesting for their own security. Photo: Courtesy of N1 

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